


Job Hazards

by CatrinaSL



Series: A Simple Device [68]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Kidnapping, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Supervillains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7351711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the hazards of Darcy's job might just be meeting her Soulmate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Job Hazards

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to Fluffy263, who gave us the Words!
> 
> Soulmate AU Reminder: Everyone has a Soulmark, a tattoo of the first words their Soulmate will say to them. Showing someone else your Soulmark is like baring your soul to them, so most people only show their Soulmate or very trusted friends.

Darcy had been excited about moving to New York and into Avengers Tower. Thinking back, she hadn't been prepared for it. Not the futuristic technology, not seeing superheroes daily, and not the kidnapping.

Oh, the kidnapping.

It was a job hazard. Villains somehow got the idea that lab assistants, people from the accounting department, and Tony Stark's personal chefs were important enough to rescue but not raise an outcry (it's not like Darcy was the President of the United States or anything).

And so Darcy got kidnapped.

She got taken hostage with large groups, she was held against her will several times with only a handful of others, and once she even got shoved off the top of the Tower by a bad guy (she passed out halfway down, they told her later that Iron Man had caught her before she hit the ground).

It was scary the first few times, but she got used to it. It was like riding the subway to work, only nobody ever paid her a nice hazard bonus for getting leered at. Sharing an apartment with Jane in the Tower really had its perks (even if the downsides were occasionally supervillainous).

 

One particular kidnapping, Darcy sat with two other lab assistants in a dank cellar. Based on her experience, the heroes would arrive soon (Darcy hoped it was Captain America or Hawkeye. So dreamy!), so she passed the time by daydreaming about what her life could have been like if she'd gone back to get her Master's degree instead of following Jane around. Despite the bars of her prison, she decided she'd rather be here than living the academic life. This one had way more superhero biceps.

Suddenly the cell door was lifted away and tossed down the hallway, and she looked up to see Iron Man.

"Okay, kids, down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and out the door. Quinjet's waiting; Hawkeye will keep an eye on you until we're ready to get out of here.

_ Yes, Hawkeye after all! _

Darcy was the last to step out of the cell, so she smiled up at him and said, "Thanks for the save, but honestly, being your personal damsel in distress is getting old."

She would have turned to follow the other lab assistants to safety, but his faceplate flipped up and revealed a surprised expression.

"I'm sorry to tell you that it's only one of the downsides that comes with this gig."

Darcy shrugged. "Yeah, I'm kinda used to it, but still."

Stark blinked at her. "You're... not...?" he wondered.

"Sir," Darcy heard a voice come from within the suit. "I believe you are correct in your current assumption, however, I would remind you that while you and Miss Lewis have never been formally introduced, this is not the first time you have met. Doctor Von Doom was the cause of your first direct interaction."

"Oh yeah," Darcy remembered, eyeing the exit and wondering if this was the time for small talk. "And before that it was the time a bunch of us got held hostage in the subway, only War Machine and the Black Widow were there too."

"And the time Morag got ahold of you and Foster," Tony remembered.

"Ooh, uh-huh. That was the first time I ever got kidnapped. Scariest one yet," Darcy said.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Did I say anything to her when I saved her from falling to her death?"

"Of course, sir. I believe your words were, 'Hey there, can I give you a lift?'"

Darcy gasped. "Aw, I wish I hadn't been unconscious for that! It would have been hilarious!"

Tony nodded modestly. "I try."

Escape now, be shocked later. "So if you're my Soulmate, do you mind if we talk about this when there aren't bad guys to fight and lives to save?"

Stark looked like he had completely forgotten. "Oh, sure. Whatever you want."

Darcy grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/146811825108/job-hazards)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


End file.
